PRESS & REVIEWS

Author Interview: A Conversation with Carol June Stover

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Press Releases

Novel Set in 1950s Wins First Place for Fiction in Literary Awards

Reader Reviews

"As soon as I began reading Surviving 26th Street, I was hooked. Ms. Stover did a wonderful job with both character and plot development. The Justice family had a complex dynamic that kept me turning the pages to see what would happen next. Jane stood out as an independent, resourceful and mature young girl. I found myself sitting on the front steps with Jane experiencing her natural curiosity about her neighbors and neighborhood. This was a well-told story that I thoroughly enjoyed."
- Punta Gorda, Florida Reader

"It had everything a great story should have - mystery, sex, relationships, cheating, interfering mother’s in law, and nosey neighbors! "
- Pennnsylvania reader

"I read the first chapter on the plane and it (Surviving 26th Street) is fantastic! Honestly, the first paragraph will draw you in completely! Carol Stover has the best opening line EVER!"
- San Francisco reader

"Surviving 26th Street" is a great read. From the start, I felt a part of the Justice family and all their travails. l couldn't help but get personally involved with the characters. Having grown up in the 50's, it was a "trip down memory lane".
- North Carolina Reader

Surviving 26th Street is a delightful read. Author Carol June Stover has meticulous re-created 1954 in New Jersey. Her eye for detail — from the rotary telephones to the white gloves the ladies wore, to the white bread and bologna sandwiches — immerses the reader in a somewhat gentler time period, when Ike was president and TV had not yet invaded every household. In this post-WWII era, where jobs were plentiful for returning GIs and where most women were homemakers, Winton Justice, the self-centered but insecure husband and father of the story, cannot manage to keep a job to support his family. His long suffering wife, Laura, is forced to get a job typing, and eventually reporting, at the town’s newspaper. The other characters who populate Stover’s story are interesting and memorable, from the creepy Hubert Hubley, Winton’s employee with a penchant for stealing food and other, bigger items; to Rachel Christian, the backyard neighbor and real estate agent with a wicked sex addiction. The twists and turn of this novel will keep readers riveted until the very last pages.
- Chicago Reader

This book is a wonderful read that had me hooked from the first page. I found myself really caring about the characters and was drawn into their lives. It has a mystery within the story, but the main element is a frank, honest, gritty study of family life in 1950's New Jersey. Jane Justice, is the bright, independent, and neglected 9 year old daughter, who has you rooting for her from the get go. Once I started the story, I did not want to put it down, a real page turner. A thoroughly enjoyable book.
- Boston reader

Quill says: Surviving 26th Street is a good read for women to reflect upon - 'you've come a long way baby'!
- Diane Lunsford, Feathered Quill Book Reviews